Wild Nature

Arrival: LIVE

2008-09-16T06:25:00.000-07:00

courtesy of Grant Worth

We did it!!!!! 85 days, 3647 miles peddaled

2008-09-09T07:47:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK CITY!!!!

Thanks to Josh Bousel for the following set of photos:

to see the whole set by Josh Bousel, go to:
http://flickr.com/photos/joshbousel/sets/72157607174699681/

Thanks so much to everyone who contributed. We couldn't have done it without you!!!

Almost there! (just a hurricane between us now)

2008-09-05T06:49:00.000-07:00

Day 81: 58 miles to Baltimore, MD (actually, Towson, MD)

Rode out of DC on the Rock Creek trail, which was gorgeous tree canopy lined trail, but after almost 40 miles we realized we were still in DC. Decided to re-route for the next four days to get to NY quickly. We climbed a lot of short STEEP hills that day, and also watched the sun set behind us. Then we went to visit our old friend, Carrie Collins, who has temporarily moved back to MD to do a nursing program at Johns Hopkins. Her parents, Janet and Sam, are sweet and funny respectively. In ten years that we've known Carrie, we can't believe we haven't met them sooner. Sam cooked us a delicious dinner, and, having heard a rumor that we are into pie, Janet baked us a cherry pie, which wins the gold medal for best pie on this trip!!! (Thanks so much, guys) *Sweet story: Carrie's parents met at the bus stop!

Carrie, we miss you already!
Day 82: 54 miles to Oxford, PA

At Carrie's we rerouted our path, and found ourselved spending the next night in Oxford. At breakfast, (which by the way included home made blueberry muffins from Janet..yum!) Sam said, "My brother lives in Oxford, let me call him up and see if you guys can stay there."
What are the odds!?!?

It was over a hundred degrees that day as we rode, and hardly any shade on our non bike friendly (but shorter) route. We stopped at the only place we could find shade, the liquor store, and Karin cooled off in the walk in refrigerator. Then we passed the Mason-Dixon line right before we entered, PENNSYLVANIA!
As per our directions, we were to look for the dog mailbox. We were at Max & Denise's.
Denise shows, trains, boards, and grooms Westies. She has six of them, and there were three more that were staying at the house, so nine in total.
One of them, CJ, had been BEST IN SHOW!!!!! Both pages of this are him:
Denise also makes handmade, fashionable leashes. http://www.denisesleashes.com/
Hang in there!
At dinner, (which was wonderful) we learned that Denise had been an aerobics instructor in the 80's. Not only that, but they had one on video that Max had taped. Of course we watched it!
(I think I want to teach a dance aerobics class, who wants to sign up? -D)

Also at dinner we were talking about singing, and learned that Denise and Max were a duo. (http://www.maxanddenise.com/) They sang a few songs for us which were so beautiful!!! Thanks so much guys, we can't wait for the CDs!

Day 83: 64 miles to Morrisville, PA

After a lovely breakfast with Denise on the patio, we headed out on a hot hot day. We pounded it out without too much stopping. The plan was to stay in Trenton, but when we were right at the State line, we stopped at a gas station, and Jayesh, (left) told us that we should just stay in the area we were in. Jayesh also donated to the WWF, and so did Lamont, (right). Thanks, guys!!

We are so close now, but hurricane Hannah is on her way to greet us. Don't worry, we will be at that finish line on Sunday, rain or shine!!! Can't wait to see everyone!! Check out the flyers that Daphne and Michael made (in earlier postings) and we hope to see you there!!!!!!

One nice thing about a hurricane a-comin' is how beautiful it makes the sky look.

Finish line update!

2008-09-04T12:58:00.000-07:00

Here they come! Welcome Debbie and Karin this Sunday Sept. 7th at Battery Park. We'll meet up at 4:30 at battery park for their 5pm arrival. Meet at the Castle Clinton National Monument, where the Statue of Liberty Ferry drops off. If you get lost, call me when you get there and I'll tell you where to go, if you don't have my number email me at dgomezmena@yahoo.com and i'll give it to you.

By Train:

A, C to Broadway/Nassau* E to World Trade Center
N,R to City Hall, Cortlandt Street, Rector Street, or Whitehall Street
J,M,Z to Fulton Street or Broad Street
2,3 to Park Place, Fulton Street, or Wall Street
1,9 to Rector Street or South Ferry
4,5 to Brooklyn Bridge, Fulton Street, Wall Street, or Bowling Green
6 to Brooklyn Bridge

By Bus:

Afterwards we'll meet up at Trophy bar 351 Broadway in Brooklyn with djs, blair, jeremy and michael, to party the night away at the usual party time 9 or 10 ish, again call me if you need more detail.

YAY!!!

and thanks to michael for making the flyer!

and spread the word/post on your facebook or myspace or whatever you kids are using these days.

5 more days 'till our booties get a break!

2008-09-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! Sorry for the long delay, but we have been peddling hard. We have made it from sea to shining sea and are now in Washington D.C.!!!! Only five more days until New York! Special shoutout to Daphne who has been organizing our arrival fiesta!

A lot has happened since we last left you.....

Day 70: 64 miles Bloomington to North Vernon, Indiana.

We were sad to leave Bloomie-town, but Victoria packed us a delicious lunch of pasta salad and chocolate cake which made it a little better. We biked to Muscatatuk Park, and as soon as we entered the park, a tunnel of trees and a river made the temperature 30 degrees cooler. We set up our tents and started walking into town to find dinner. A nice guy gave us a ride into town, and coincidentally when we were done eating, there he was, and gave us a ride home. It was so peaceful, except for the loud sounds of drag racing that went on ALL NIGHT.

Day 71: 77 miles to Cincinatti, Ohio

The plan was to camp in Aurora, but we got there so early in the day, that the three of us decided to keep on peddling to Cincinnati.

Since there was no campground, we stayed in a hotel... with a pool!

Unfortunately the pool's rule #1 made me lose my appetite for swimming.

That night we watched the finale of the Olympics, and Karin's aura was shining bright.

Day 72: 69 miles to Hillsboro, Ohio
rode out of Cincinatti on a gray-ny day and camped out that night.

Day 73: 36 miles to Chillicothe, Ohio

Chillicothe is Ohio's first capital, and a really cute town. We had planned to keep going, but there were no campgrounds to be found for miles. When we stopped for lunch, we met Lee who treated us to some "buckeyes," which are homemade peanut butter cups. We had planned to sleep in the park that night.

Later, I ran into Lee again, and he invited us to stay at his super cool place that was filled with lots of vintage/old school toys. (THANKS, Lee!!) It was especially awesome not to have to sleep in the park, because that night the city was getting lots of rain from "Fey."

No on ISSUE 12!

Day 74: 60 miles to Athens, Ohio

We biked in the chilly rain. Karin found the Inhale yoga studio and we thought we could go in and ask, "Namaste at your house?"

We ended up at a delicious organic Mexican restaurant, Casa Nueva, where we met Scott who said the magic words: "Do you need a place to stay? I have a hot tub." (Thanks, Scott!!)

We got to play with his blowgun.

Thank goodness we all are still getting along as good as ever!

The cold grass was just the perfect treatment after soaking in the jacuzzi.

Day 75: 59 miles to Mountainwood Park, WEST VIRGINIA
In the morning Scott took us to "The Gathering Place" a organization that he runs to help people with mental illnesses.

I got a one way ticket to Coolville

Crossed a rainy bridge into WEST VIRGINIA!!!
Country road, take these mountain mamma's home!!

The first stop in WV was Parkersburg. To our surprise, we found a LEBANESE restaurant! They were so sweet too! They treated us to a delicious feast, and called the local reporter.

Roger came over and interviewed us, and we made the paper!!

http://www.newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/508771.html

Roger suggested we stay at Mountwood Park. He had a friend there who rented out a beach house for cheap. (by beach, they mean lake)

There were deer frolicking all around us.

Day 76: 65 Miles to Belgium, WV
The morning was so rainy we didn't want to leave our cozy home.

People in WVa are so nice! Like Danny, who pulled over on the side of the road with cold lemonade for us. He used to do bike touring too, and, after chatting for a bit, he gave us the keys to his place so that we could stay there, even though he was going to be away!

He told us that he makes Indian stuff, and not to get freaked out by his things. We biked on to Clarksburg where there was an Italian festival. We watched these cute dancers and grandma pantomime put on a show.

It got dark before we had gotten to Danny's house, and HWY 50, our route, was closed to bicycles because it turned into a big interstate. We hitched a couple miles with some guys who were already hitching with another guy.

Then we encountered another detour, that we couldn't get around, so we hitched once again (only a few miles!) with Doug and Scott. We stopped at their house and got to meet their cool family, who also invited us to stay, but we were already set on going to Danny's.

THANKS!

We finnaly made it to Danny's house, and it was SO cool. He is an amazing craftsman and artist, and also a coalminer.

Day 77: 49 miles to Oakland, MARYLAND

That morning leaving Danny's house, we couldn't find a store or place to get food. We saw a sign which led us to Sandy and Melanee, whose restaurant was closed, but they put on a pot of coffee for us. Then they shared their breakfast with us, and also donated to the cause. THANKS GUYS!!! Their niceness and positive vibes gave us that extra boost to climb 4 MOUNTAINS!!

The Appalachians are our last final hurdle, but they were also a pleasure. The weather was cool and the scenery was so lovely. And the long, windy downhills were SO much fun.

We popped into Maryland for the night and stayed at the top of Backbone mountain.

A nice girl helped reunite us

Day 78: 49 miles, Romney, West Virginia

Early morning at the top of the foggy mountain felt like a dream.

We got to Romney early, but there was no where to hang out, so we ended up hanging out on the lawn in front of the gas station. There we met Sherri, who invited us to stay in her YURT! This was her bumper sticker:

I'd never been in a Yurt before!

Sherri writes books about psychic connections involving people with mental illnesses. She also reads Tarot, and gave us readings.

It's amazing how huge the Yurt is inside. It's like a tent and a teepee mixed with some elegance and class. I slept on the massage table.

Thanks, Sherri!

Day 79: 53 miles to Berryville, VIRGINIA

Today's ride was downhill and euphoric as we crossed into a new state!

Day 80: 69 miles, Washington, D.C.
We rode 40 miles on the W&OD trail. Lovely.

Stopped and had the BEST PIE!

Ceci's friend Laura left Balloons and signs all along the trail..

She even made T-Shirts!

After the party we biked to Anna's house, Ceci's cousin, who is hosting us tonight.

5 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

The day is fast approaching!! Save the date for Debbie and Karin's NYC finish line fiesta! Sunday September 7th at Battery Park at 4:30 pm picnic and celebration! Also there will be an after party Sunday night so we can dance with the girls and check out their killer tan lines! More info to come soon. contact daphne dgomezmena@yahoo.com with any questions and stuff.

Indiana-na-na

2008-08-22T12:44:00.000-07:00

Day 65: 69 miles to Bloomington, INDIANA!

Today we crossed into another state! We stopped for lunch at Vincennes where we decided to part ways for a few days. Ceci and I headed north to Bloomington, while Karin headed south to Louisville. Don't worry friends, it's only for a few days and we will reunite on Saturday in North Vernon.

Sunset over the corn fields

We really wanted to make it all the way to Bloomington, where Andy D and Victoria were waiting, so we decided to keep biking even after it got dark. The red full moon lit the night for us and a blanket of fog strangely only covered the crops on the left of us.

Day 66-69: 0 miles, resting in Bloomington

Andy D & Victoria just moved into a sweet house with a gorgeous garden that has roses, vegetables, surprise lillies, and sunflowers taller than me!

Victoria let us raid her closet. It feels so nice to wear a dress!

Karen, Andy's mom, took us all out for lunch (Thanks!)
(She's a therapist who is working on a book about female sex offenders)

The pool is only a few blocks away.

The next day we had a picnic at the winery.

Sha-na-na-Sweetness.

We took a stroll through the University and went to see an exhibit at the Special Collections Library where Victoria is getting her library science degree.

Victoria was painting these seagreen stripes in perfect lines without even putting tape on the walls.

port on the patio

Andy & Victoria have been cooking us delicious meals! Pasta sauce made with tomatoes from their garden, shepherd's pie, and homemade cobbler to name some highlights. We also got to eat Indian AND Tibetan food!

We hit the Bloomington night scene a few times to get our dance on.
I miss dancing!! my legs almost forgot how... (almost)

As of midnight, it was Ceci's birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CECI!!!!

it's been awesome living like real people for a few days!!!

For her B-day, Victoria surprised Ceci with a beautiful AND delicious banana chocolate cake.

In case anyone wants to read about our adventures from another P.O.V. you can check out Ceci's blog: http://www.ceciliaanderson.blogspot.com/

Back to the wildlife we go!! We just mapped out the way to D.C. and I can't even believe how close we are now!!!!! Miss everyone! XOXOXOX

Two states that start with an "I"

2008-08-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

Day 61:
0 miles. Rest day at the Tyler house in Washington, MO

Today Wesley left the group to ride ahead of us so that he can make it back in time for school.
BYE WESLEY!!! We are going to miss you!

Meet the Tyler's (in the 80's)
Larry, Diana, Katie, Sarah, & Ian

Diana and Larry, two people who know how to enjoy life.

Ian & Max

That night we got to meet Ceci's Vovo who stopped by for a visit.

Day 62: 60 miles, Washington, MO to St. Louis, MO

We rode on the Katy Trail to St. Charles, before risking our lives on an insane freeway, JUST to get into St. Louis for a night on the town. We managed to score a shuttle from the hotel to the Metrolink, which took us right downtown.

Day 63: 46 miles, St. Louis, MO to Carlyle, ILLINOIS

It was a lovely ride out to the arch on a quiet, tree-lined part of the city, and we met up with Larry and Diana for lunch on a riverboat.

Then we crossed into another state: ILLINOIS!!! We biked right over the Mississippi river... we're so close now....

We camped at the McNair campground which was right on the biggest lake in Illinois. The campground was run by the US Army Corps of Engineers. (that means = cute rangers). Actually, the rangers busted us for wildcat camping on a piece of land that was NOT an official campsite... but WE are EVEN cuter than them, and they had to let it slide. Not only did they let us stay, they even drove us into town for dinner.

Day 64: 92 miles!!! Carlyle, IL to Lawrenceville, IL

Our first stop of the day was in Flora, where sitting in a park we met the owner of the local DQ who gave us coupons for free ice cream! (Thanks!)

Also, check out some places that we've been mentioned!

Scott's K48 Bullet:
http://thek48bullet.blogspot.com/2008/08/girls-gone-wild-life.html

Also, Jake wrote something in the Miami New Times blog:
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2008/08/former_avenue_d_singer_bikes_a.php

(And if you go two posts back, there's an article about a party my sister's were part of... Conga line in the pool and everything! http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2008/08/photos_yo_bbq_pool_party_at_ps.php)

2500 miles!

2008-08-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

Day 58: 22 miles Linn Creek to Eldon, MO

Today we got invited by Scott Hug's sister Amy Pike and her family to stay with them at their beautiful home.

This is the driveway leading up to the Pike house. It must be the longest driveway I've ever seen. After living in NYC for nearly a decade, seeing people have this much space to live in is just unbelievable!

The Pikes and their 4 vivacious daughters.
Carissa the eldest daughter with mom and dad.

Abbey, the baby girl.

Day 59: 51 miles Eldon to Tebetts, MO

The day began with a big pancake breakfast made by Wesley.
We decided to spend the first half of the day hanging out with Amy and the girls.

Mackenzie and Wesley aka Tutti & Frutti

Amanda, the photographer and cyclist.
Wanna join us on our trip?

The girls all ride in the rodeo, barrel race, and rope goats.
Here's one of their baby goats. Really cute, but they poop A LOT!

Mackenzie and Amanda let us ride their horses, Silky and Sunny D.

Debbie galloped on both horses, but hasn't been able to walk right in three days.

We had about 50 miles ahead of us that day, so we said our goodbyes around noon.
The Pike girls and friend, Mattie posing with us for goodbye photo.

How many miles will this driveway add to our ride today?

Thanks so much to the Pike family for having us over! We had lots of fun getting to know you!

That afternoon we passed through Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri.

Fireball in the sky.

We got on the Katy Trail (no cars!) around sunset, then spent the next hour riding through the darkness. The only thing we could see was five feet in front of us. The rainforest-like foliage and the chirping critters around us added to the eeriness. It was the most adventurous night ride we've done so far on this trip.

We stayed at a biker hostel off the Katy Trail that night. The place was really cute, nice bike shop, great showers, but the bunks were horrible.

Day 60: 70 miles, Tebetts to Washington, MO

Katy Trail hostel by day.

The shaded bike path on the Katy Trail was a nice leisurely ride. But beware of the spider webs! They are like booby traps along the trail. We looked like cocooned mummies after 10 miles on the trail.

Did a child draw this sign?

The sun looked like it was burning a hole in the sky as it dipped into the horizon.
We sure don't get blazing sunsets like these in the city.

We stopped at a little diner off the trail and had the best blackberry pie. This place was so great they let you specify the size of the slice you want. We ate almost the entire pie in three slices.
I thought about my grandma as I ate my pie because today is her birthday. Happy Birthday Grannie, I ate a pie in your honor today!

We are heading into the city of Washington to stay with our friend, Sara Tyler's family.
Can't wait to see if our new mommy and daddy are going to be nice to us.

Lots of love to all our readers!!!
We've made it 2500 miles across America!
XXOO

Karin, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!

2008-08-11T09:58:00.001-07:00

Day 51: 65 miles, Great Bend, to Hutchinson, KS

Last we left y'all we were still in Kansas, in a library, waiting for our bikes to be ready. When we went to get the bikes, the guy at the shop told us about the Church of Zion down the street that's been letting bikers sleep there since 1982! He gave us the keys to the church.

Day 52: 50 miles, Hutchie to Witchie, (Wichita, KS)

Missi (Victoria's sister) was nice enough to host us in her lovely home in Wichita. It was SO HOT that day and we were so happy to have some refuge from the heat. She even made us enchiladas for dinner. (Thanks, Missi!!!!)

Missi, her daughter, Kylie, and her son, Joseph

Kylie and her friend made us delicious cookies.

Day 53: 72 miles, Wichita to Eureka, KS

Started out with a rainy morning, which we didn't mind too much, since we'd rather bike in the cool rain, than 105 degrees. Wesley got a flat and we went into a car garage to fix it. Met these guys who told us stories about when they used to keep lions in a pen behind the garage.

We stopped for lunch in El Dorado (pronounced do-rey-do) and continued on. As we rode a UPS truck stopped next to us and pointed to the clouds, "Be careful! There's a LOT of water up there!"

That afternoon it rained something crazy. We got soaked to the bone! We slept in the public park after an all you can eat chinese buffet.

Day 54: 50 miles, Eureka to Iola, KS
Another rainy day. Who says there's no fashion on this trip?

This is Dave. A good friend of Ceci's who came from San Diego to ride with us for a little while.

Stopped in Yates Center for a picnic lunch in the park, and we wandered to the stadium to find a bathroom. The stadium had been dedicated to the spirit of Jason "Buger" Rutherford.

Scariest bathroom ever!

Camped in Iola, so happy to find a shower house & laundry!

The sunset sky was unreal!

Day 55: 66 miles, Iola, KS to Nevada, Missouri!

We stopped at the gas station for coffee where I met Bev, who works there, and was telling me about her local animal rescue project. We were chatting for a bit, and she was telling other people in the store about our trip.

One thing led to another and someone called the local newspaper, The Iola Register, who sent reporter Richard Luken right over to interview us!

From there we biked to historical Fort Scott

One foot in Kansas, and one in Missouri!

Then we hauled arse to Nevada (pronounced Ne-vey-da!)

Day 56: 66 miles Nevada to Galmey, MO

This morning we found out that we made FRONT PAGE of the Iola Register!!! We are front page news!! Not sure how long this link will work, but you can read it at http://www.iolaregister.com/

We had breakfast in a nice little cafe, which had the grossest hand dryer we've ever seen! There was even a warning sticker on it that said: "Use only to dry hands and face. DO NOT hang from towel"

Missouri is SO pretty. There are breezy winds, shady trees, and wildflowers all along the roads.

Met some troublemakers in Weableau

We had lunch at Peggy's where I had gooseberry pie for the first time. The cute teenage waitress told us that we should camp at "the beach" aka Pomme de Terre lake. It was gorgeous. We're in the Ozarks!

Decided to have a wild night out at the Mule Lip (the teenage waitress from before told us NOT to go there unless we had a taser!) I played four songs on the digital jukebox (kylie, snoop, the cure, & m.i.a.) and Karin and I danced our little hearts out on the confederate flag dance floor. I miss dancing!!

portraits at the bar:

Day 57: 49 miles, Galmey to Linn Creek, MO

Stopped for coffee at the triangle where we met Harvey D.

Cows in the lake

what is blood worship?

it's like woah.

We stayed at the Ozark Trails RV park. So nice!They had a pool & a game room that had a TV and mouse trap! We watched a special on TLC about a half ton man.

Tonight we are staying in Eldon, with Scott Hug's sister, Amy and her family. Amy and her husband are both chiropracters and are nice enough to let me sit in the office and work on this blog! (Thanks!!) The rest of the gang went ahead to the ranch. I can't wait!

Farmtown

2008-08-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

Day 46: 58 Miles. Pueblo, Co to Ordway, Co

We are now in East Colorado. No more shady trees, rivers, or mountains, just the hot sun and the plainy plain plains, with Prairie dogs yipping and running about. It is flat and we've been cranking up our mileage. We stopped in Boone and met Bill at the only store there. He warned us of the town pervert who tries to con cyclists.

The ride was hotter than a pepper sprout. The high was about 110 and there was not a cloud in the sky. When we got to Ordway we were overjoyed to find a sprayground! We stripped off all our spandex and ran around like maniacs, making us the town spectacle for a few hours.

The following six pictures were taken by Wesley:

***************************************************

nice brown kneehighs!

That night we slept in the park, which was nice.... except for the loud teenagers, barking dogs, and the overwhelming waft of poo that would blow through our tents every 20 minutes.
Day 47: 65 miles. Ordway to Eads, Colorado

Today was a rough one. We had headwinds pushing against us almost the whole way and were moving at about 5mph, which is slower than uphill!

Not a cloud for miles.

We stopped in Haswell, population: 50

We spent a few hours in the propane store, the only store in town, to cool off. The owner let us sit on the couch and watch Cheech and Chong.

We were pretty much zonked out and then the owner's kids came in the store. Woke us right up.

We set back out around 4:30 to keep going, and the headwinds were still going strong. Karin and Wes were already there and Ceci and I were lagging behind. About 2 miles out of town, Ceci found a tiny kitty. There was nothing around for miles so I wrapped him in a towel and put him in my handlebar bag and rode him into town. As soon as we reached Eads, the kitty jumped out of my bag and went running towards a group of kids that were selling rocks in front of there house. An 8 year old boy screamed "a kitty!" and snatched him up and ran off. Problem solved.

We ate so well that night. AND I found the best pie ever!!

Day 48: 83 miles. Eads, Colorado to Leoti, KANSAS!!!
Another HOT one! Ceci is righting ahead of us now, so it was just the three of us. We paid $2 to swim in the town pool with all the kids. Those slides were so fun.

Then, we went to the county fair, where there was FREE DINNER!

Yum. There were delicious BBQ beef sandwiches, which was a little weird because we were eating them in front of all of the prized cows. (sorry cows)

Then there was an auction for all the prized baked goods.

Guess how much her sugar cookies sold for?

Also, there was a fashion show. There was one proud American boy who reminded me of a baby Jeremy Parker.

We rode 22 more miles through the sunset to Leoti. When we set up our tents in the park, both Karin's and mine started rolling away! (and my tent is HUGE) we were chasing after them. It was ridiculous, wish I had a pic of it.

Day 49: 81 Miles Leoti, KS to Basine, KS

Power morning of getting as much mileage covered before the sun got too hot. Stopped in Dighton & took naps in the laundromat.

Thank You to our new sponsors!!!!

Tony Basgall from Fur-Fin & Feathers

Joe & Cindy Valdez

We slept that night at Daniel & Elaine's Bicycle Oasis.

Catarina the Ballerina

A picture of old school Danielaine

Danielaine now.

Day 50: 56 miles Basine to Great Bend, KS

We arrived into Great Bend pretty early.. I tried to blog, but the computer at the hotel we snuck into blocked our blog! So we decided to spend the day swimming in their pool & jacuzzi. It was so hot outside! (it was either that or Wal Mart)

Sunrise in Great Bend

I have been appointed on skywatch to watch for storms, since you can see them 100 miles away. We had a pamphlet warning us about crazy storms that occur here like a mammatus which looks crazy scary! It's been a pretty easy job since there have been hardly any clouds, but then today, we had our first Kansas clouds!! Thank You clouds for cooling down the day for a few minutes!

Now we are at Hutchison, aka "Hutchie" at the library. My right knee is killing me! Does anyone know Reiki you can do over the phone?

Tommorrow we will be in Wichita!
miss you all! xoxox

Elevation:HIGH !!!!!!

2008-07-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

Day 43: 58 Miles Crested Butte to Sargeants, Co.

We did a easy ride from Crested Butte to Sargents that day and arrived early afternoon. We checked into a tipi at the campgrounds because none of us have ever slept in one before, and there was a firepit to roast marshmallows in the tipi.

Our raindance worked and brought in the clouds.

The interior of the tipi was nothing luxurious, but it was cozy enough for the 4 of us.

Day 44: 65 miles Sargeants to Cotopaxi, Co.

Today we climbed up a steep 10 mile mountain pass that reached 11,312 feet. I was so surprised at how well we all did. The hills are no longer daunting, and climbing on my bike has become sort of meditative for me. I can't believe I am even saying this, but now that we are entering the flatlands I'm going to miss the hills. Monarch Pass is the highest elevation point on our entire trip. Congrats everyone! We did it!

Where there is an uphill, there is a downhill. This was the best downhill run ever. I think we clocked in at close to 50 mph racing down. It's the most exhilarating feeling ever!

Stopped in Salida. We met "The Princess Tour" in the bike shop. A group of lady cyclists raising money for literacy.

Todd... We are so glad we met you!
On our way to Sargents, Debbie met Todd biking on the highway. He offered to drive our heavy saddlebags to Salida on the other side of Monarch Pass. The climb was so nice without the extra weight. Todd invited us to hang out at his house when we got to Salida. We got to meet his cat, Jasper. He's a goldsmith and showed us all his designs and even cleaned Debbie and Ceci's jewelry. Check out his website: http://www.toddswork.com/

Todd was so funny. We were talking about going to high school reunions and how there's always this pressure of having some kind of professional career to brag about. His response to people when they ask him what he does is, "I dick around." Really he's a super talented jewelry designer, and he also makes cool bugs and lights.

We waited out the afternoon storm at Todd's house. When the rain cleared up we got on our way again. The sky after the rain was beautiful.

Fresh Marmalade!

Day 45: 73 Miles Cotopaxi to Pueblo, Co. Aunt Irene's House!!!

Stopped for lunch in Canon City

Wish we could have gone in and gotten some hoochie mamma mountain fashion. Teva's with no socks, a sports bra, and really sexy walking stick.

Healthy picnic in the park in Canon City.
Ceci and her bountiful produce.

We managed to bike just ahead of the storm that was following us.

Aunt Irene!!!!! Zachary from REI in Santa Monica hooked us up with his Aunt Irene. (Thanks, Zachary!!) She offered us a comfy house to stay in for the night in Pueblo. She had everything a tired biker would want after a day of riding. Warm showers, clean towels, washer dryer, soft beds, lots of food, computers with hi speed internet, fresh brewed coffee,... the list can go on. We feel so spoiled.

We are blogging from her house right now, and trying to draw out the morning as much as we can so we don't have to leave. Thank you for your generosity!
Thanks so much for having us Aunt Irene.

Rest our Butts in Crested Butte

2008-07-24T09:13:00.001-07:00

Day ?: 54 Miles from Montrose, Co to a camp spot by the Blue Mesa Resevoir
We slept in that morning and got a late start which left us getting scorched climbing in the midday sun. Ceci ended up hitching and Karin was falling asleep at the wheel. We stopped at a gas station called Pleasant Valley, and there, I had the best pie I've had on this whole trip! Next to us were a group of oldies that were part of the horseless carraige club and had fancy old cars. When my pie came out the lady next to me said, "wow! we should get bikes, look how much that girl can eat!!" We stayed there until the clouds came over the sun and then continued on.

That day we lost Wesley because he was so far ahead of us and we hadn't decided where we were all going to stop. We were a little worried.

Eventually, we were reunited at a campsite right on the lake.

The sky and the light were beautiful.

It was a quiet evening.

And a quiet morning.

Day ?+1: 46 miles to Crested Butte, Colorado

we woke up early and headed out. Ceci was extra excited to see her brother, Rafa.

my word!

Rafa, and his gf, Molly, lived in a beautiful wooden house between all the mountains way up in the clouds. The scenery looked so fake, like you could pull a string and roll it back up. We were LOVING the high country. Rafa pulled out his bows and arrows and we did some shooting!

Pearl!

This is the view from the kitchen sink.

Day ?+2: Rafa took us all out on the river with his raft.

Rolling down the river....

If only there was a river straight to NYC!

Stew invited us over to his place. He lives in Gothic Valley in the National Forest in a hammock between all the lovely foliage.

That's his shower on the right.

We were supposed to shoot plates with shotguns that day, but it didn't work out, so we played a tough boy version of the tightrope instead. (WAY better)

Thanks SO much Molly & Rafa for an awesome couple of days of R&R.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOLLY!!!!!!

Next stop: Monarch Pass!!! The tallest peak of the whole ride!!! OVer 11,000 feet!!!!!

To hell you ride, Stoner (coloRADo!)

2008-07-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

We have crossed the border into COLORADO! Utah is great, but we've got our share of canyons and red rocks, and are ready for some cool shady trees and rivers! We stopped to try to set the self timer next to the sign, when someone at the bar across the street hollered, "I'll tell you what!" No, I'll tell YOU what, come here and take a picture of us. I really like this jaunty angle.

This was our first welcome sign, (what is the rebublic? a drink? also can someone please explain how John McCain "will bring snow and rain?")

We have now joined forces with another biking team, Ceci and Wesley, who are awesome. We all slept in a public park in Dove Creek that night.

On our way to Dolores, the lake looked too delicious not to stop and jump in.

Nice tan lines, Ceci

That night we slept in Stoner, Colorado. It was freezing at the campground, so we made dinner in one of the empty cabins. We had planned on there being a grocery store or restaurant there, but those Stoners can't get it together and there was nothing. Luckily, we had three packs of Ramen which we made into a delicious dinner.

Stoner morning

I love Colorado! The temperature is so nice here.

The landscape is so pretty, we've been singing all the songs from Sound of Music as we bike through.

Do-Mi-Mi, Mi-So-So, Rey-Fa-Fa, La-Ti-Ti all the way up the mountain

This is the highest we've climbed so far. Now that we're traveling with others there's no copout hitchiking. We went up over 10,000 feet!!!!

Camoflauge Karin

That day we rolled into Telluride, Colorado. At first it seemed kind of creepy. All of the houses were picture perfect doll houses and when we rolled in, a sheet of grey clouds was coming over the city. It was also super quiet and all we could hear was the sound of sprinklers.

We went to the town park, whose campgrounds were full, but luckily the lovely Rosie, a fellow biker, offered to share her site with us. She even had a cuban coffee maker in the morning. Rosie, you're the best!

Bridal Veil waterfall.

We stopped at a bike shop to fix our bikes. While we were there the desk girl said to us, "It's my obligation to tell you that this weekend is the 'nothing festival' because it's the only weekend in the summer where there is no festival. So there's a NAKED BIKERIDE through town tonight, meet us at the bar at 8 "

We picnicked by the river in this sha-la-la-la prettytown
Karin rides everything she sees

We took the gondola over the mountain to get ice cream

Karin and Wesley waited in a very long line of small children to get to ride the bungee bounce. It was totally worth it.

Dang, Wesley, we didn't know you were so flexible!

Gondola in the rain

pretty little town

Evening rolled around and we went to the bar, ready to rack up some naked mileage for our trip.

It was chilly and rainy that evening, so we needed a little courage juice.

All the local bikers were sauced up and screaming "who wants to go on a bike ride" all up and down the main street.

We all met up at Roby's house to start the ride

Sorry Dads, but you know you would have done it too.

The entire town was outside, lined up and down the main street, to see the parade of about 30 naked bikers.

free as the wind

Can we please do the rest of this trip with no clothes on?

After the ride, we stayed hanging out at Roby's house.

Travis, who fixed our bikes, and Roby, who fell during the nudie ride. ouch.

Guitar Hero after party.

Ceci, we have to teach you about S&S!

things got a little messy

The next day we rode mostly downhill to Montrose. These are our favorite kinds of street signs. They spell F-U-N.

More than 1000 Miles!

2008-07-17T10:15:00.001-07:00

Day 28: We arrived in Escalante that afternoon. We spent the afternoon catching up on our blog at the Trading Post. There we met a really sweet couple, Susan and David Brown from Taos, New Mexico. They were on a road trip traveling on a motorcycle. Such nice people, they even bought us our dinner that night. We wish them lots of exciting adventures on their journey.

Day 29: We left Escalante in the morning hoping to travel 63 miles uphill to arrive in Torrey before sundown. It was going to be a very challenging day climbing up to 9500 feet over Boulder mountain. We sweated it out for the first 20 miles and arrived at a campsite to fill up on water. The next 20 miles was going to be grueling. But we lucked out and met a nice Swiss family vacationing in a RV. They offered us a ride in their camper van, so we took it!

Their RV was so cool, we had never seen the inside of these before. But I think it might be nicer than most Manhattan apartments.

It happened to be their youngest daughter, Aline's birthday that day. They invited us to a birthday lunch of homecooked spaghetti.

Mr. & Mrs. Gerber in their younger days were adventure travelers too, and shared stories of their journeys across the Americas.

They were a very lovely family. We thank them for their company, the ride to the top of the mountain, and for inviting us to Aline's birthday lunch. Happy Birthday! Happy Travels!

The rest of the ride that day went by quickly. It was downhill all the way to Torrey!

In Torrey we met up with Ben. Ben is a landscaper helping to develop sustainable homesteads. He has been working with Ty for the last four years building on her beautiful desert land and cultivating an orchard, and he let us camp there. (Thanks, Ben!!)

We got to camp right under some beautiful rock formations and bathe in a creek.

Ty also runs a bed and breakfast which was converted from an old schoolhouse. They serve only organic foods. They screen documentaries on Sundays (which is the day we were there) and we got to meet some friendly people from Torrey.

Ty

Day 30: Watching the Sunrise over the canyons

Cowboy scratchiti from 1885

That morning Ben gave us a tour of the land and all the projects he's been working on. We also got to meet his camel.

His name is Fletcher

Katie is a college student from Boston who spent the last month working on the land with Ben and learning about natural building. We're so glad she was there to camp in the wilderness with us and show us the ropes. She's studying to become a natural therapist and hopes to join the peace corps someday. She's a girl with a wonderful spirit. We had a great time hanging out with you!

Ben is building a beautiful lofted studio with scenic views of the desert mountains.

We left Torrey late in the afternoon because we had a short ride to Hanksville that day. It's always on the "easy days" we end up having bicycle mishaps. About 15 miles out of Torrey I got a flat tire. No big deal. I stop and fix it. I get back on my bike and ride 20 feet, and the same tire explodes and my chain pops off. Suffice to say that it was a total pain in the butt, I wasted so much riding time trying to fix my bike in the afternoon heat. Debs was nowhere in sight because we were on a downhill run. Our cellphones didn't have service. Thankfully a couple motorists driving on the same road helped us communicate to each other from bottom of the hill to the top of the hill. Too bad the message sent downhill to Debbie didn't get to her, because she climbed back up the hill looking for me. What was supposed to be an "easy ride" turned out to be a pretty tiresome ride that day.

I fixed my bike, we regrouped and we got on our way again. The red rocks from the hot canyon disappeared and the mountains turned into silvery grey as we entered Caineville.

We had a challenging day and both of us were worn out, so we made a pit stop at the Luna Mesa for a couple coffees. It was the most charming diner we've come across in the desert. The place was full of old western memorabilia, thrift store jewelry, signed dollar bills all over the ceiling, and family photos. We met Ann & her daughter, Cheralyn, who told us of the Hollywood history of the Luna Mesa. Lots of films have been shot here. And back in the day John Wayne even stayed there.

Do you recognize this place from any movies???

We felt recharged and forgot about the troubles from that afternoon and sang showtunes riding side by side all the way into Hanksville.

There is a castle on a cloud

Return from nipple mountain

We met an Aussie and a Dutch road tripper at dinner and shared a campsite with them. This summer we've noticed most of the road trippers at the national parks are European. It's a good time for them to come vacation because their money is worth more their ours right now. We hope all these tourists are able to experience America the way we have on our road trip. The kindness and generosity of people, the beautiful vast landscape.... If more Europeans could come out and experience America this way, maybe they would have nicer things to say about our culture.

That night we also noticed a family with seven beautiful children camping at next to us. I met Gloria, the mom, in the laundromat and she told me their family was biking across America this summer. I couldn't believe my ears.

Day 31: The ride from Hanksville to the next town was 132 miles with a "primitive service" campground in between. Late in the morning, after too much diddle daddling, we left Hanksville and headed for the "primitive service" campground. The rays of the sun bouncing off the red canyons all around us was too much for me. We realized too late that we were riding through the heat of the day uphill. I ran out of water 10 miles before we got there and had a panic attack at the side of the road. I even started crying. Debbie came and snapped me out of it and her positive attitude pushed me up the last of the hills to the campgrounds in Hite.

"Primitive Service" is right! The Hite campgrounds was an abandoned campsite because the waters of Lake Powell had receded so much. There were no showers, no people, no grass, no trees.

We couldn't find one spot of shade in the entire place and it was hot!!!!!

Namaste in the lake. If only we had brought floaties, maybe we could have slept in the lake.

We were so happy to see the Fox family we met the night before. They were smart enough to get on the road early that morning, so they arrived at the Hite campgrounds before us.

Meet the Foxes
Bill, Gloria, Rebecca, Adriana, Willie, Paul, Vicky, John, and Sarah

The entire family of nine is touring across America this summer. Bill leads the four eldest children on the rides everyday. And Gloria drives the sag wagon with the three youngest children. You can imagine how happy we were when they invited us to join them for the next ride until we got into a town again. Gloria even offered to carry our panniers and supplies in her van.

It was John's birthday and we celebrated at the fish cleaning station with a cinnamon roll. (coincidentally, it was also my uncle John's bday that day: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to both Johns!)
Isn't he adorable?

We decided to leave the primitive campsite and do an evening ride to cut some mileage off for the next days ride.

It was so fun to ride with all the family. Everyone was so sweet and supportive of each other. It definitely brought smiles to our faces to be around them. Each time Gloria came passing by in the support van it felt like a security blanket knowing mom was going to be just around the corner.

Bill and Adriana riding the recumbent tandem bike. The were able to go so fast downhills.
52 mph!!!

Happy One Month Anniversary!!!! Deb and I have been on the road for exactly one month now.

As the sun started setting we found a plot of land where we decided to camp for the evening. It was our first experience renegade camping, and it was comforting to be with such a nice family.

Day 32: We woke up at the crack of dawn to avoid riding in the heat of the day.

The boys Willie and Paul were on mountain bikes, and were so fast they managed to keep up with us (and even pass me ) on our road bikes.

The beautiful Rebecca.

The Fox Family siesta hour.
Gloria stopped the van and we munched on snacks and drank cool water.

Vicki and Willie with the clayman sculpture

Little Sara. Awwwwwwww, she's so precious.

It was a long strenuous ride, I was amazed at how well everyone did. There was no complaining, no fussing, everyone got along, and made the journey such a positive experience for us.

After a long hard day we arrived in the town of Blanding. We celebrated our ride and John's birthday with a big dinner.

Gloria & Bill. Thanks for inviting us into your family. I mean, do you want to adopt a couple more children?

Debbie and I trying out the recumbent tandem. It was so fun I couldn't stop giggling the entire time. But it's not as easy as it looks.

Johnny got his proper birthday celebration this night.

Such a beautiful happy family.

We parted ways with the Fox family in Blanding. It was truly such a memorable experience. Their family was so inspirational. My dream is to have a family like theirs one day.
(you can follow their journey at www.ninefoxfamily.blogspot.com)

The Sunrise in Blanding

What? What kind of house is it?

We are headed to Colorado tonight. We hope for a large shoulder to bike on, good weather, pleasant scenery, sturdy bikes, and lots of downhill runs!

Sending out lots of love to our friends and family!!!!
Thanks for all your support and prayers.

I'm gonna be Iron like a Lion in ZION

2008-07-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

Day 24: We left Kanab midday, and headed out to Zion Park.
You'd think the hill climbing would get easier three weeks into the trip, but the climbs have gotten steeper and the air thinner in the high altitudes. We can't complain, because the the downhill rides are more fun than any rollercoaster you've ever been on. It's the most liberating feeling. Sometimes I get super emotional coming down these hills, just blissing out with the wind blowing in my hair.

The beautiful Mount Carmel.

Buffalo soldier....

Cyclists are not allowed in the tunnels entering Zion National Park. We arrived at the entrance as the park was closing. This nice ranger told us we had 30 minutes to hitch a ride with a car to get into the park. After a day of hill climbing there was no way we were going to turn back. We were definitely set on getting into the park that evening.

We are so lucky! Because in under 5 minutes we grabbed a ride with a some new friends. Debs and I took apart our bikes, stringed all the bungie cords together, and somehow shoved all our crap into this tiny trunk. I felt so professional and cool. Two months ago, I had never even taken a wheel off a bike. Thanks for getting us into the park guys! (hee hee, we didn't even have to pay)

Lots of wildlife up close and personal at Zion Park.

We safely arrived into the campgrounds in Springdale before dark. That night we met Dan and Jeff who shared our tent site with us. They turned out to be a couple of really fun guys.

Day 25:
Sunrise in Zion from our campgrounds.

Jeff and Dan are also from Southern California. They met as little kids in church and seemed to be a funny reflection / boy-version of me and Debs. They were on a roadtrip going through Zion, Bryce, and Lake Powell. We spent the day chilling out in Zion with our new camping friends. We listen to Bob Marley, played the guitar and bongos, drank beers, swam in the river, did some yoga, had a picnic in the canyon, made a bonfire, and watched the stars.

Free Yoga class at campsite J-13!

Jeff and Dan were heading out to Lake Powell after Zion. They brought their own jet skis which Dan painted himself. We tried to convince them to let us take it on the river in Zion. But it didn't happen.

Relaxing on the lazy river.

Mormons named Zion Park and most of the rocks.
These are the "three patriarchs" (daddy rocks)

Day 26: We all left Zion together the next morning. Dan and Jeff headed out to Lake Powell. We headed out to Bryce.

We traded our bikes for jet ski rides.

Boys Gone Wildlife!!!!!

watch us in action:

We had so much fun hanging out with you guys! Hope you guys enjoy the rest of your trip. Stay in touch and we can go diving together when we get back to LA. XXOO

We saw this incredible house in the foothills. Giving us ideas for our dream house.

We rode through Red Canyon before we got to Bryce Canyon. The climb was intense, but the scenery was beautiful. I was going through a very cranky time of the month, and I think my grouchiness may have added to the difficulty of the climb. For that I publicly apologize to Debs. "Sorry for being a moody asshole, it should only last a few more days." -K

We made it to Bryce Canyon from Zion Park in one day!!!! It certainly was not easy. I can't even believe how high we climbed. Dang, I'm so proud of us!

PS - Debs, what the hell happened to your hair in this photo?

We stayed at Ruby's Inn campgrounds right outside of Bryce Canyon National Park. This was by far the nicest campgrounds we have been to. Our showers weren't timed, they had an indoor & outdoor pool, free internet, and the best thing in the whole world right now- a JACUZZI!!!!!!! We soaked our tired bodies in the hot tub that night and it was divine.

Day 27: Ruby's Inn was so nice we decided to stay another day. We spent the day lounging by the pool, and in the evening we hitched a ride up to the park with a nice French couple. As the sun was setting we did a short hike around the rim.

Rested and in better spirits!

Beautiful rock formations.

Log bench.

Crotch rock

America is beautiful!

G-d Bless America!

2008-07-03T11:38:00.001-07:00

We arrived at the Grand Canyon on day 18! Since we were two days ahead of schedule we decided to hang out for a few days and see the sights.

Doug was the first person we met as we entered the park. He is an ex-firefighter who now does jeep tours at the bottom of the canyon. He told us the bottom of the canyon is a miserable place to be at this time of the year. Temperatures soar up to 120 degrees on some days. Visitors die or need to be rescued regularly from heat stroke! We had a nice chat with Doug about our bike tour, what a nice guy. He even donated money to our cause. Thanks a bunch!

We entered the canyon on the first day of Monsoon Season in Arizona. The clouds were heavy overhead all day, which shielded us from the sun during our ride. But no rain. Yay!!!!!

Check out this sign we saw at the ranger post.

Really? 250 People look like that guy in the Grand Canyon??? Or do they just not rescue the uglies?

Squirrels at the South Rim of the canyon feast on American treats. I wonder how much junk food these little guys can take before having a cardiac arrest?

Day 19: We spent the morning hiking the first part of the Bright Angel Trail at the South Rim. We didn't have any hiking shoes just a couple pairs of flip flops so we didn't get too far. The sights were amazing and we did manage to capture some beautiful photos.

I farted really loud right before these photos was taken.

Do you like my hiking outfit?

Male donkey + female horse = Mule
"The mule possesses the sobriety, patience, endurance and sure-footedness of the donkey, and the vigour, strength and courage of the horse." Would you trust your life to a mule?

Debbie's working on her tree of life portraits.

Twilight portrait

Day 20: Happy Birthday America!!!! Happy Fourth of July. We started the day off hiking to a secret spot called Shoshone Point that a ranger told us about. It's the most panoramic view of the canyon you can find in the South Rim. It's not even on the tourist maps. We had to hike on a unmarked trail along the rim for a couple of miles just to get there. We kept seeing animal poop, and we got scared thinking a mountain lion would eat us.

The hike was definitely worth it. The view was spectacular. Definitely IMAX worthy!
The photos speak for themselves...

We met some locals who drove up the dirt path to have a wedding at Shoshone Point.

The little boy with the horse reminded us of baby Grant.

The country wedding was complete with banjo player and boots for the bride.

We suped up our bikes for the Fourth of July!!!!

This is not a picture of us, it's from the IMAX movie. The people who don't read will never know.

Sunset at Yavapai Point

Day 21: We met a really awesome guy from Japan who is biking from Alaska to Argentina. Ryoo in his 7 month of biking.

I got my first flat that morning, and I'm praying to God to give me the powers to fix it.

Rose hiked from the North Rim to the South Rim and gave us a bag of peanut M&Ms.

My new crush.

Mural inside the Watchtower.

On our way to Cameron we heard a loud "Baaa" from the roadside. We stopped and saw a baby lamb with its head stuck in the fence. We tried to cut the wires with our utility knife, but the wires were too thick. Then Debbie grabbed the lamb's head and pushed it through the fence saving the little guy. He ran off so quickly afterwards we didn't get any other photos. We are truly Girls Gone Wildlife, saving the animals one at a time.

We finally made it to Cameron, and camped at an RV park across the street from the Navajo trading post. There were no showers there, so Karin had to take a hillbilly shower.

I filled up the jug, it's your turn to shower.-K

In the middle of the night we heard two crazy drunk rednecks screaming and cursing at each other. Debs and I got really scared and were ready to S & S! Then there were snorting noises and dogs howling all night. I thought it was some crazy inbred leatherface rapist chained up in the basement, but Debbie said it was probably a javelina (desert pig).

Day 22: Karin got another flat tire. Jimmy helped us fix it and gave us some beef jerky for the road. We ate Navajo fry bread for breakfast.

The clouds started moving in overhead midday. We tried our best to outride the storm, but it overtook us. Then came the rain. We kept pushing along until the lighting started flashing all around us.

Thank goodness we found this abandoned shack on the side of the road because the rain turned into a monsoon. It was at least 40 miles before the next town.

At first we thought it was funny, and took lots of pictures.

Then our shack started leaking and we had to hide under the table.

We sat there in the muddy ground with a sleeping bag over us from almost three hours!

A clearing in the sky.

We took off for Marble Canyon hoping to make it there before sunset.

And we did.

Day 23: Breakfast at the lodge in Marble Canyon. Our plan was to ride uphill 4,000 feet, 40 miles to Jacob Lake.

Colorado River

Cliff Dweller

When we got Cliff Dwellers, the last stop before Jacob Lake, we were warned by several people of the dangerous road conditions up the hill. When the road was repaved two years ago, they didn't put in a shoulder because of an endangered cactus that grows right next to the road. Many people offered us a ride, but we declined them all. As we filled up our waters, someone asked us, "you're biking up that hill? what are you, stupid?" and then ten more people told us it was a bad and dangerous idea. Then they told us about a girl who just flew of the edge a few days before and flipped over in her car, also there had been a cyclist killed nearby a few days ago too. (our hearts go out to him!) So after enough of these stories, we decided it'd be best for us to hitchhike up the hill. Except now, no one stopped for us.

We spent most of the day on the patio in front of the Cliff Dwellers Restaurant (best food for miles!) and got to know Nat, who ran fishing tours, and Marn, the chef of the restaurant. They tried to help us get a ride, but when we couldn't get one, they decided to take us themselves.

Nat's "river purse", painted by a local artist.

They are both from Utah and moved to the desert together to follow their dreams.

When we got to Jacob Lake, we offered to take them out for a drink to say thanks... Since there was no bar in Jacob lake, we kept driving to Fredonia!

We had a few at the Buckskin and met Z, the bartender.

They ended up driving us all the way to Kaneb, Utah! Then Marn gave us some necklaces she bought from a Navajo woman earlier. They were so beautiful. Thanks Marn & Nat, you guys were our angels: I yo nish na!!!!! (means I love you in Navajo) We'll be back!! Next time we'll ride the river together.

A sign at the Hitch n' Post that we stayed at.

We're headed to Zion Park today. Thanks for all your comments, they really make spending all this time in the library worthwhile! LOVE YOU!!!

500 MILES!!!!!!

2008-07-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

Prescott turned out to be a really awesome biker friendly town. They had a beautiful park in the town square where Debbie and I took a nap under the trees and had a picnic. We met so many friendly people.

Adam and Lori, who we met early that morning riding through the switchbacks took us out to dinner. They both belong to a local cycling club and ride up and down the mountain 3-5 times a week, which is 54 miles. Wow! The day before when we met the other guys from the cycling club, one of them asked us, "so, what are you guys riding 120, 150 miles a day?" um.... Adam even did the treacherous ride through the California desert on his own once. We're not worthy! We're not worthy!

I hope once this trip is over I will make biking a regular part of my exercise routine too. (I'm actually thinking about becoming a spinning instructor.) -KKC

Riding off into the sunset...

Thanks for hanging out with us guys! We had lots of fun getting to know you. We loved Prescott so much, I'm sure we'll be back one day. Stay in touch.

That night we camped at Lake Watson, just a few miles outside of Prescott.

Day 16: The day started out great, we slept in a little (until 6am!) because we knew we would have a relatively easy ride that day. Then about 20 miles out of Prescott, I got my first flat tire! (not bad for 500 miles) when I went to go change it, I realized that REI had sold me the WRONG SIZE TUBES!!! Booooo!!! We called Bikesmith Cycle & Fitness, in Prescott who were nice enough to drive out and bring us some tubes. -D

Roy, who actually did six years of bike touring, from Bikesmith Cycle, came out and fixed the tire.

By now, we had lost the cool morning weather and were biking in the heat of the day. Then I got ANOTHER FLAT TIRE!! Luckily, I had the tubes now, so I fixed it myself. When we started riding again, I noticed that my bike was making a crazy sound. I wasn't sure why I was going so slow and getting so tired, until I realized that my rear brakes were on! I tried adjusting everything on the bike, but couldn't figure out how to fix it, so I had to ride for 15 miles uphill with brakes on. It was so hot that day, my back and legs were killing me, and it felt like we would never get there. I wanted to throw my bike into the desert and crawl into a snake hole.

We finally made it to Ash Fork. Three truckers who had passed us earlier and honked at us, came to our rescue and helped fix my brakes.

We had dinner at the only place to eat in town. We asked the waitress about the next town, Williams, and she said, "yea, it's way bigger than Ash Fork, they have more than one place to eat...and a Safeway!" The old guy in the photo and I bonded for a second when he told me all about the town idiot from New Mexico and how much the whole town hated him.

Ranch House Cafe, the only place to eat in Ash Fork.

After our dinner at the Ranch House Cafe, Elissa (who we met from Intentional Community) was nice enough to come out and pick us up in her big pickup truck. There was eight miles of dirt road to get out to where she lived, and after the two flats from early that day, we really didn't want to risk it. Driving to her house we passed by an alpaca and llama farm that belonged to her neighbor Anne.

Alpacas have the softest fur.

Anne raised them for their shearling.

She let us feed them. They were adorable.

We got to feed the llamas, too.

I don't know why I'm running away from them, they are clearly fenced off, and not dangerous.

Cute baby alpaca, awwwwww.

We finally arrive at Elissa's house after some serious off road driving. She lives way out in the desert in a beautiful ecofriendly ranch.

3 years ago Elissa moved out here by herself and turned a little cabin into a self sustaining eco friendly home. The place is seriously divine. Her house was full of healing books, tinctures, essential oils, music, crystals, herbs, incense, blessed water, blessed oils.... It was really such a treat for us to get to spend the night at such a wholesome peaceful environment. Elissa's home is so far out in the wilderness, at night, the star dotted desert sky seemed to go on forever in every direction.

The sweetest kitty.

I was looking at all of her crystals and there was this big orange one that brought me to tears when I picked it up. So crazy. It was Citrine, which I looked up and is supposed to have the power of the sun. -D

Even the outhouse was nice because you could watch the sunrise while going to the bathroom.

Her house runs on solar power, and she also had rain gutters on her roof to capture rain water. We are so impressed with all the work she's done on her land in the short time that she's been out there. She's one of the only women that I know who knows how to handle a backhoe.

She even has a trampoline with a mountain view! Elissa is working on building a community of healers out on her land. Check out her website BrighterEarth.com. We definitely had a healing experience out there with her.

Not too far from Elissa's home there were some petroglyphs on the sides of the mountains.

Day 17 : We rode uphill to an all American town called Williams. We were very lucky because the monsoon clouds covered the hot sun pretty much the entire climb up.
and it barely rained.

The historical route 66 cuts through Williams. A store window getting ready to celebrate July 4th.

A pretty native american outfit that Debbie asked me to buy for her.
Karin sold flowers to pay for dinner.

Get your kicks on route 66!

Debbie's new boyfriend. Sorry Rawn!

That night we camped at a little RV park in Red Lake

Day 18: We arrived in Red Lake late the night before. In the morning we saw that the backdrop to our camping site was beautiful.

That morning we met our "mother figure" for the day. Her name is Nikki, and she worked at the Texaco next to the RV park. She gave us free refills on our coffee, and also matching friendship bracelets.
"Friends 4-eva!" Thanks Nikki!

Sunblock. Debbie thinks I look like the wicked witch of the west.
(She does when her cape flies in the wind as she bikes!)

Lots of love. Happy 4th of July!!!!

Por los Animales!

2008-06-29T15:11:00.000-07:00

Last we left you we were sitting in the public library in a town called Yarnell.
Patty, the librarian, was giving us the scoop on the town.
The library was closing as we were trying to finish our last post. As we were taking a photo of Patty, in walked June and Joel returning books at the last minute. Patty told them about our trip, and, as we took this photo, they asked us if we'd like to stay at their guest house.
We had been planning to stay at a crappy RV park, and now we had a whole house!! How lucky are we? Guardian Angels!

Not only did they invite us to stay at their lovely home, June and Joel also invited us to lunch at KoKopelli. Melinda made us delicious meatball sandwiches. We're coming back for that razzleberry pie!

We spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know Joel & June, two wonderful people living life to the fullest. The house we stayed in was across the street from theirs. We slept like babies that night.

Day 15: We woke up at 4am.

June and Joel were so nice, they made us fresh baked bread for breakfast.

Good Morning, God.

That morning we rode through the picturesque Peeples Valley.

we love animals!

Nice ass!

We climbed all those mountains that you see in this photo up to Prescott

Por los animales!!

We met some other cyclists along the way. Adam and Lori rode with us through the switchbacks. They made the ride a lot more pleasant.

After a 6 hour morning ride, we made it to Prescott before noon

Thanks for the Horsepitality!

2008-06-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

Guess who's leg belongs to who? They're aren't too manish yet, are they?

Day 12: We left Phoenix early morning heading north. That morning I crashed my bike into the spoiler of a shitty car, and it cracked one of my brakes. The driver didn't even stop to see if I was ok. What a jerk!!!!! Anyway, Phoenix is not too biker friendly. The cars don't know how to share the road, and drivers kept honking their horns at us.

We stopped at a bike shop, called Surprise Bicycles to get our brakes checked and a new lock. Justin hooked us up with some new gear. He had stitches on his lip, and we thought it was from a biking accident, but turns out a puppy bit his mouth the night before. Lucky we checked, because Debbie's brakes had been worn down to nothing! Thanks for the new brake pads and for putting our sticker up in your store! Stay in touch.

We made the mistake of trying to get on the road after lunch. The heat was scorching. Five miles felt like forever. There was no shade anywhere, not one single tree in sight.

I threw my sarong over my head to sheild myself from the sun.

We came across this building with no windows that we decided to stop at. We were worried it might be a titty bar, but at that point we would hang out ANYWHERE with A/C. It turned out to be a sportsbar, the Trackside Bar & Grill in Wittman. We decided to hang out there and have a couple of beers to wait for the sun to go down a bit before we hit the road.

We made a few friends while hanging out at the bar. This is Andrew. When he approached us we were both reading, and he said, "what, you guys don't like each other?" He thought we were crazy, but was kind enough to give us his phone number in case we got into any trouble.

Here's the friendly staff and owner of the Trackside. Everyone there was super nice to us. I think we sat there for almost four hours chilling out and reading. We got lots of good tips and travel advice.

This is Bobbie, she's a trucker and runs a horse rescue organization where they save horses and finds them good homes.

Beautiful Arizona sunset.

Sunset clouds.

Finally at the end of a 65 mile ride, we arrived in Wickenberg, a quaint little cowboy town. We camped at a really awesomely decorated RV park called Horsepitality.

Everything there was cowboy and wild west motif. Debbie and I had the entire rec room all to ourselves. So we made a wild west gun duel movie, but instead of using guns we used pepper spray.

I lost my hand at poker and had to entertain the cowboys to stay alive. The cowboys also fired their guns at Debbie's feet and told her to tap dance. At the end of the night, we all became good friends. Kind of like when Pee Wee goes to the biker bar.

Debbie found a book that changed her life.

Day 13: We decided to spend an extra day in Wickenberg because we woke up too late for our morning ride. It ended up being a nice day off. We walked around town, visited some cowboy stores, and wrote postcards to our friends and family.

Sunset.

Later that evening, we discovered a really cool horse stable in the back of the RV park we were staying at. Delia was the owner of the horses. One of her horses came all the way from Southern France. She went to college in NYC like us, and told us some stories about her partying days. It made me miss the city a little when she described crossing a snow covered Central Park on New Year's Eve.

Debbie made a new friend, Dani.

She got to ride bareback. Yee-Haw!

Delia was so sweet, she gave us her phone number and told us to call her if we needed people to stay with once we got out to the mid-west.

We love sunsets!

Day 14: we climbed 30 miles uphill to Yarnell

It was tough, but we made it!!
"Where the desert breeze meets the mountain air"

We stopped to get some DELICIOUS sweet corn, and met Gloria Bacon who made a donation. Thanks, Gloria!!

That's all for now!

We love and miss you!

Look what we dug up at Janie's

2008-06-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

By the time I get to Phoenix

2008-06-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

Day Seven: We woke up at 4am and rode 30 miles into Heber, a small city outside of El Centro. There we met our savior from the heat - Grandma Margaret. We met Margaret through her granddaughter, Diana from couchsurfing.org. Margaret welcomed us into her beautiful home, fed us, gave us clean towels, warm showers, comfortable beds, and wonderful company. Meeting Margaret and her family was truly a blessing. I have never met such a loving, kind, and hospitable group before. They take in weary travelers on a regular basis and treat them like family. On our last night there, Corey, Diana's boyfriend treated us out to dinner.

Here's a photo of Grandma Margaret when she was 5 years old marching in a parade.

We spent the morning before we left jamming out to Guitar Hero with Irie, (one of Margaret's many grandchildren). We had so much fun hanging out with the family it made me sad to leave. We send out enormous gratitude to Margaret and her family for putting us up. It was truly a wonderful experience. Irie's parting wish to us was for our bus to breakdown so that we could stay longer with them....

Back up the story to the night before.... Debbie and I went through our first disagreement on this trip. Girls Gone Wildlife was facing a major dilemma on how we were going to cross the treacherous barren desert during a major heat wave. The temperature was at a 120 degree high during the day, the route had no water, food, or towns for 100 miles. We were going to have to carry at least 2 days supply of water and food and travel on uphill terrain. We were warned by pretty much every person we encountered.

Karin's POV:

The days leading up to our departure I was secretly scared shitless. I didn't want to be too vocal about it and bring down the morale. But seriously, I did not think I was mentally or physically prepared for this desert journey. Yes, yes I know the trip is about challenging myself mentally and physically, but it wasn't worth it in my mind to endanger my life and turn myself into vulture food. So on the last evening in El Centro I decided to check out bus routes and rates. I found inexpensive tickets on the Greyhound bus and suggested it as an option to Debbie. I had a horrible gut feeling that crossing the desert on bikes was not the right path for us. The feeling started to manifest itself physically the evening we were going to leave, when I suddenly felt sick and dizzy, my body just didn't want to leave. I promise I'm not being dramatic, there was definitely something outside of myself I couldn't control that was preventing me from leaving El Centro on a bike. I put my ego aside, allowed myself to be vulnerable and admitted that I am not capable of this challenge. I am thankful for my partner, Debbie for understanding and compromising on this with me. The next morning we left on our bikes and headed to the Greyhound bus station.

Debbie's POV:

We had a blast at Grandma Margarita's house. It was lovely and comfortable, but I was anxious to keep moving. The next few panels on the map were going to be hot and difficult, but I had faith that we were capable. Before we crossed the mountain we were both scared as hell about how hard it would be going up, then even more scared about the dangers of going down, but when we did it we felt so incredible for having been able to conquer it. I felt that this next part would be the same way. Plus, I was excited about the challenge. We had planned to leave after dinner, but when we got home Karin started freaking out and saying that she wasn't feeling well. I told her to take a nap, and that we could leave when she woke up. I was a little annoyed, at first, because I knew that she was scared. However, while she slept, I started to get this splitting headache. Also, my mom started texting me messages filled with a sense of panic and worry. Then I started to think about how our plan to bike all night was not completely fool-proof since we would still have to stop and sleep outside in the 120 degree heat of the day, and only have as much water as we could carry. By the time Karin woke up, I realized that she was just being smart and not wussy and told her that I was open to taking the bus. Part of me felt like we were cheating, and that we would dissapoint everyone that was rooting for us. Not to mention that the other biker we met had just come from there and seemed to have made it okay. But he was a pro, 120 degrees in the desert is no joke, and if we got sick or heat stroke, we wouldn't be able to finish the ride anyway.

The Greyhound Bus we were supposed to take to Phoenix broke down before it even arrived to the El Centro bus station. Thanks a lot Irie! A corrections officer transporting inmates suggested that we try our luck hitchhiking by the freeway. Everyone in El Centro drives a pickup truck. We spent the first 30 minutes in the hot sun shouting at trucks driving by.

We had codes worked out in case we got into a car with crazies:

"5 minutes to crazytown" meant one of us would say we had diarrhea and had to stop immediately where we would get our stuff off the truck and get out.

"SS crazytown" meant SPRAY, STAB, and roll out of the car.

but no one stopped. no one! did WE look crazy?

A homeless guy walked over to our corner. "This is our corner! Back off!" But then he handed us a piece of cardboard and a marker and said, "No one's gonna stop if they don't know where you are going." Thanks, Wolf! It's funny how help comes in the most unexpected forms sometimes. We cheered, we danced, we tried everything, but still no one stopped. It was about 1pm and hot as hell, so we went to go get a milkshake.

While we were sipping on our shakes, we told our story to the guy sitting next to us, who suggested we try the truck stop nearby. The first people to pull in for gas were two pickup trucks full of PYTs. Karin asked them for a ride and behold our saviors for the day who drove us all the way to Phoenix! (and they were fun!) Thanks, guys!!!

our thank you present

(D: we are SO SO SO lucky. That we met great people who helped us out. There was only one moment when I secretly wished we were on our bikes: driving by these gorgeous sand dunes)

we are SO lucky!!

They had all just come from a weekend in San Diego where they celebrated Jake's 21st birthday.

Happy Birthday! thanks for driving us!

we laughed, we sang, we peed in the desert together.

STAB AND SPRAY!!!

We hung out with our new friends into the evening, then we got back on our bikes and rode to Janie's (Grant's mom's) house. She is a sweet lady with a positive attitude towards life. We've been here hanging out for a few days relaxing.

Elroy

Janie=sunshine!

roughing it

Janie & Mark

We also got to meet the lovely Riana

Tim & Riana

Sha-na-na-na! Life is good. Tomorrow we go back to the Wildlife... We are headed towards the Grand Canyon next!

Miss you, love you, dear friends and family. We look forward to reading your comments. XXOO

Conquered the Mountain, Now Crossing the Desert...

2008-06-21T17:01:00.000-07:00

Day Four: We left San Diego late afternoon after having lunch with Walter, that afternoon we started our climb. We missed our first campsite, and it was getting dark. At about 10 in the evening we arrived at the Lake Jennings. As we approached the ranger stopped us, and then said "Well, technically, we're closed now, but you two look like you could use a place to camp." The lake twinkled and glistened under moonlight, and made all the difficult climbing worthwhile.

Watch out for snakes and mountain lions!!!

Dwain, aka, "Duke" was the name of the park ranger who greeted us. A very nice man, who kind of reminded me of Don Knotts. Debbie and I have become pros at setting up tent, even in pitch black darkness. The showers were free and hot. We were exhausted from the uphill ride that day, and quickly drifted off to sleep listening to the sounds of coyotes howling at the moon. We biked a total of 26 miles that day.

Day Five: Happy Birthday to Grantini!!!! Lake Jennings was even more spectacular in the daytime. Today was the big day for our steepest climb. You can see the elevation profile in our last post. We climbed a total of 4,000 feet on this special day, all for our favorite Tutti Fruity.

We stopped in a town called Alpine for lunch and met a nice girl named Jennifer who was doing PR for an organization that raises money to find lost children. We thought she was really sweet and it lifted our spirits to chat with her about our trip.

As we climbed up we started to see signs that read "10 avocados for $2.50," "orange flesh honeydew up ahead," each sign making our mouth water more than the last. We thought it might be a mirage, but the signs led us to Alpine Farms. The farmer, Jack was real friendly and helped us stock up on some healthy produce. We bought grapes, apricots, nectarines, peaches, dates, and string beans. As a parting gift he gave us a jar of bee pollen to help give us the protein and nutrients we need to keep climbing. Everything we bought was so delicious. (what we spent $10 on would have probably cost about $60 at Whole Foods!)

Fruits and Vegetables make people happy!

As we reached the top of the mountain the sun started to go down. We were in Descanso, which means rest in Spanish, which is exactly how we felt when we got there. Maybe it was because the temperature dropped about 15 degrees, but we both felt so relieved to be there. We stopped at the Descanso Market to get ice cream and popsicles and met Robin, who was full of funny stores and interesting facts about the town. The building the market was in is over 80 years old.

She said, "There's something special about this mountain." I guess it used to be part of a Native American trail way back when. She also told us that the high that day had been 105 degrees! and we were biking uphill in the heat of the day!

sunsets make us happy.

We spent that evening at the Pine Valley Inn. The climb had worn us out and we figured it was better to stop now and get an early start than to keep going 15 more miles to the next campsite. There we met Sean & Bill, who made a contribution to our cause. Sean was involved in the local Church and said that he would have the whole congregation pray for us. It felt so comforting to know that people we don't even know are sending us positive energy and love.

As we were leaving Sean handed me a piece of paper with a blessing for us on it.

Day Six: We met a fellow bike touring cyclist; Daniel from Germany. Turned out that our reputation had preceded us. He had heard about us through a couchsurfer that he stayed with, whom we were going to be staying with. A fascinating young man who's biked all over the world. He did a bike trip from Paris to Beijing once on a reclining bike. Here's a link to his blog www.velaia.de .He gave us some good tips, and warned us of the heat in the desert. Too bad we were going in opposite directions otherwise it would have been fun to ride with him for a while. Anyway, best wishes Daniel!!!! Have a safe journey.

We stopped at a town called Jacumba for lunch. For a little town with a population of 400, it certainly had a lot of interesting people.

Pam and her friend were staying at a clothing optional part of town. I really wished we could have gone with them. We could really use some nude sunbathing to get rid of our crazy looking tan lines. Pam made a generous contribution to the cause. Thanks Pam!!!!

A delicious apple pie a la mode we devoured over lunch.

Norman Blackwood, "the town kook" as he described himself, is currently working on a writing western novel, and a children's book. He also used to have a stage show which he performed at the senior home.

Glenda the waitress

Fernando, the chef

Bill, a math teacher with cryptic tatoos.

We still haven't figured out the square root of -1, and the square root of 69..

The way down the mountain was so scary. We had so looked forward to it, until everyone in Jacumba started telling us how dangerous the descent was, especially for bikers. It was the funnest and scariest thing I've ever done in my life. The descent was SO steep, and you have to ride on the highway with all the speeding cars on the edge of the cliff. Luckily, there is a wide bike lane. We raced down for about ten miles with tears rolling down our faces, and our hearts beating like crazy. But we made it! Safe and alive. Thank God.

We stopped in Ocotillo, and Ed let us set up our tents in his RV Park for free. He even let us swim in their pool. We got to bed super early so that we could wake up at 4 to beat the heat. (which is 120 degrees where we are now)

We started riding at 5am.

This is the first sunrise that we've gotten to see and we were riding straight into it. So amazing and gorgeous. Again, all the hard parts are forgotten as we remember why we are doing this again.

Today's ride

2008-06-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

Its 10am and we're getting ready for the toughest ride of the whole
trip... Climbing this crazy mountain in the desert. Yesterday we did
that little green peak at the bottom (to lakeside) and it was painful.

Today is Grant's birthday though so we're dedicating this climb to
him. LOVE U GRANT!! Happy Birthday!!!

We made it to San Diego!!! (and boy are our legs sore!)

2008-06-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

Day 1: We were supposed to leave LA at 9am in the morning. But we hung late with our friends the night before, so we woke up late. The morning of our departure we realized our racks didn't fit. Rawn and Deb ran around town and managed to locate some racks. Christiaan, Philip, and Rawn sent us off from Santa Monica Pier at about 9 in the evening (photos in previous post). We rode off into the night, down the empty beach trail all the way to Palos Verdes. My cousin Celia and Ace let us stay with them for our first night. What we didn't know was there was a four mile incline up a crazy hill in pitch black darkness to get to their house in Palos Verdes. (And there were snakes!!) We started to question why the hell we were doing this again. We didn't get to their house until 1am in the morning. Poor planning on our part. But they had a fancy Aveda-product-filled bathroom, which was super nice! Thanks guys!

Day2: The ride downhill was way more fun! What took us an hour to climb, only took ten minutes to descend. We stopped at a grocery store and bought bread, nutella, peanut butter, and string cheese sticks which we ate at a little coffee shop nearby.

Karin: "I love you Debbie"
Debbie: "I love you Karin, last night was crazy!"
Business man passing us: dirty look

We continued our ride down the coast and rode past some breathtaking views of the Southern California coast. We met a nice man on a bike named Greg who showed us how to get out of the Long Beach Harbor and gave us some good bike tips. We stopped for lunch at Sunset Beach and did some yoga. Our string cheese from the morning had melted in our bags so we pretended we were eating fried mozarella sticks. Debbie saw a school of dolphins as we were riding up a crazy hill in Laguna Beach. After a long day of riding we ended up at a camp site in Doheny State Park. Total mileage for the day was 55 miles. The day did not end there. Keep reading below, we met some crazy boys at our campsite....

That evening we set up our tents for the first time and slept in them. We also met a really sweet girl named Carrie who was so brave she biked from LA to San Diego and back all by herself and slept on the ground with no tent. That night we ate the rest of our groceries from that morning. Debbie made a sandwich with melted string cheese, peanut butter, and nutella. We pretended we were having peanut butter chocolate cheesecake. Yum!

We also met a group of college boys who snuck booze onto the campgrounds, and were more than generous with us. They offered us everything they could think of including, documentary editing and film developing for free, gardening work, free golf balls, airplane maintenance, booze, food, and free advertising. Too cute, too hot! If only they were of age. There's nothing finer than a minor, but we didn't want to press our luck.

ps - my favorite was Joey (guy directly above me). He's a RA at UCLA studying drama, and hopes to grow our some facial hair that doesn't make him look homeless. He drank too much and kept Debs & I up all night listening to him puke. Don't worry, I'll come looking for you at the Viceroy when I get back to LA.

Day 3: The morning after. I'm sleeping naked in a see-thru tent. I set up the tent in the dark the night before and didn't realize it was totally see-thru. Thank god I'm covered and not flashing the entire campground.

We got on the road and left Doheny State Park around 10-11am. We were feeling extra tired and grouchy that morning, then I fell off my bike. Debbie laughed at me and took a picture.

We rode through a military training site called Camp Pendleton, and then stoppped to have lunch in Oceanside beach.

We were hoping to make it to San Diego by this night. A nice man on a bike stopped to give us directions, but we didn't get his name. He said he was on his way to work, I asked him what he did for a living, and I thought he said he was a bartender, Debbie thought he said he was a policeman. We're not sure what he does for a living, but he gave us really good directions to get to San Deigo. Thanks a bunch! Write us and tell us your name and what you do.

Early evening we rode through Torrey Pines, which was an insane hill. It sucked so bad, I wanted to throw all my equipment into the sea. My entire body is still sore from it. (But it was pretty!)

Around 9 o'clock on a full moon, Debbie and I got into San Diego. We called Walter. Walter is seriously the nicest friend two tired bikers could have. He surprised us with a hotel room in San Diego!!! OMG when I heard the news over the phone I screamed like I won the lottery. So we hauled ass into San Diego knowing there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Along the way, we got lost again, and Mike came to our rescue. Mike found us at he corner of Mission Bay and some other street I don't know. Turns out he's a year-round lifeguard here in San Diego and also a cyclist. He just did a crazy tour two weeks ago in the Italian alps. Seriously the kindest man, after riding us all the way to our hotel, he also treated us to NY style pizza. He was a guardian angel. Thanks a million Mike!

Around 10 o'clock we get to the hotel with Walter. Walter hooked it up!!!! This place was sweet!Cable TV, kitchen, living room, two queen size beds, hot shower, robe terry cloth robes. We are the luckiest girls in the world! It was seriously a day of abundance! To top it all off, at the end of the night I went to the Coke machine to buy a can of soda, and three cans of soda fell out!!!! We slept so well!!! Thanks Walter!!!!! Ok more in a few days. We are heading out to lunch with Walter now.

Girls Gone Wildlife's Big Adventure (send off

2008-06-18T13:56:00.001-07:00

Tree Huggers

Hi everyone!

This is the girls gone wildlife LA based updater!

First off, I MISS YOU GUYS ALREADY!!!!

I got a call from Debbie that there were some issues that had to be resolved before heading off to the beach to begin their cross-country trek. After Karin stopped by her parent's place, they came over and picked me and Phillip up to go get some healthy food at the beach.

We ended up at a vegan restaurant. Debbie and I played tic-tac-toe with Debbie's food. And then this happened: :)

After lunch, we all went to the car to begin assembling the bags onto the bike. Karin also realized that she needs a kick-stand ASAP.

Here's Karin talking to her mama before taking off.

Pre-Bike Trip Babe-alcious Bodies!

We thought it would be a good idea to send off at the Santa Monica Piers!

And they're OFFFF!!!!

xoxo
Christiaan ;)

RAWN

2008-06-15T14:31:00.001-07:00

Thanks so much for helping us get all of our last minute shit together! Thanks for protecting me from getting raped by Debbie every night. You will be missed. We love you lots!!!!!!
XXOO

Pics from our show

2008-06-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

ACK! we leave tomorrow!!! we are both in crazytown, but luckily, we are pretty ready and have everything we need.. Thanks so much to everyone who has been contributing and supporting!!

We all played a show last week at Mustache Mondays.

Our band is called Rawn + Debbie (with a little heart around it)

Karin was sunshine in the all star dance troop

this was backstage rehearsal before the show:

we had a song about sunshine, trees, & gigolos

the other number was a cover of "nothing's gonna change my love for you"

(Ronald, I'm gonna miss you!)

The Countdown Begins: 4 DAYS!!!

2008-06-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

ahhhh! its coming up so fast, and our training montage video is not even done yet! yikes. Thanks so much to everyone who donated!! You guys are the best. In case anyone is curious this is our projected daily schedule for while we are on the bike trip:

4:30 am: wake up to watch the sunrise, stretch/yoga and breakfast

6-9 am: ride ride ride

9am -4pm: stop. find people to interview, take photos, rest, eat

4-7pm: ride ride ride (except not in the desert when 4pm is the hottest hour)

7pm: set up camp, watch the sunset, stretch/yoga and dinner

9pm: make songs and journal

We Only Got 4 Minutes to CrazyTown

2008-06-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

This past week in training.... We found a bunch of adventurous bike paths in LA, met a cool guy on a bike named Joe, biked to Malibu,
hung out with some old NYC friends, and got stalked by a friendly dog.

We discovered several great LA bike paths, here's a quick review of each.
LOS ANGELES BIKE PATHS

Rio Hondo: A short bike path that goes through the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area, and ends at the Peck Rd park. Both of the parks have a beautiful lake in the middle of it. Lots of street exits along the way to get on and off the bike path. A nice ride I would recommend to anyone. The best part was at the end of the ride we were only a hop and a skip away from King Taco, where we pigged out on $2 quesadillas, $1 tacos and tamales, and a chocolate chip cookie. Biking has been awesome for our metabolism. We eat ice cream, tacos, and IHOP at midnight and are still getting skinny.

LA River: We biked from Monterey Park to Griffith Park and then biked along the LA River back to Downtown LA. Griffith Park has a very nice bike path with lots of trees and shade, and it's very scenic (the zoo and the ponies stables) it's an easy ride not too hilly, but the actual bike path inside the park is quite short. The Griffith Park bike path leads to the LA River bike path,which runs right along the 5 Freeway. The only thing separating the bike path and the freeway is a crappy old fence. Unless you enjoy getting high off of exhaust fumes, make sure you don't ride during rush hour traffic.

Upper San Gabriel River: We biked from Longo Toyota in South El Monte to Irwindale to get on the bike trail. This was probably my favorite trail. I felt like I was in an 80's movie as the teen from the wrong side of the tracks. It's a narrow elevated bike path that runs along the SG river. Biking along the route you can see a metamorphosis of the river from sludgey sewage, to swamplands, to pretty river bed with trees, to backdrop for Huck Finn. On this route we made a new friend Joe. A super nice guy, who breeds pitbull, once drove to Panama from California, and works in an assisted living home.

Joe: Hey, can I ride with you guys?
Karin: Sure
Joe: Do you guys know any bike tricks?
Deb: No, do you?
Joe:

Santa Monica to Malibu: Most of the bike route along the beach is super flat and easy for cruising. If you're a serious biker don't come here especially on the weekends when it is packed full of tourist on dumb cruiser bikes wobbling around between both lanes. It made me feel a little bit like an asshole in spandex when I kept having to yell "LEFT" to all the tourists on their rental bikes. Great for a relaxing ride, not so good for training. Get off the bike path and get on PCH to Malibu, that's where the real training comes in. You not only have to concentrate on riding a very straight line so you don't get hit by speeding oncoming traffic, but you also have to do it on a very steady continuous incline. Check out Malibu riding in photo below. Debbie's Dangerous spandex outfit got a ton of cat calls and honks.

Note on catcallers in LA: Dudes in LA are chickenshit when it comes to hollering at girls. They only catcall girls from a moving car so they can make a quick getaway. One time Debbie and I caught up to a car full of boys that had just catcalled us and they looked at us like deer in headlights. All I know is, my homies in Harlem at least were man enough to step to me and ask for my number and invite me to dinner. Next time I'm going to bike up to a catcaller and scream, "You like this? Well you gotta take it out to dinner first. And we HUNGRY!"

Mid-San Gabriel River: One day we biked from Monterey Park to Norwalk in the mid-day sun. The bike ride was not as enjoyable as I thought it would be. I think we may have experienced beginning stages of heatstroke and we didn't eat breakfast that morning. I got really bored and then irritable, and then cursed at a woman driver for giving me the right of way on the road. I barely even remember the trail now. I think it was pretty boring and monotonous with few trees. Midway through Debs and I stopped at a Target and drank lemonade, and ate a loaf of bread, a bag of string cheese and a bunch of granola bars. We both felt a bit like we were from crazytown that day. Lesson learned, no more riding hungry in mid-day sun!

Because weekends are made for fun.... We gave ourselves a day off over the weekend and drove to brunch with some NYC expats. It was a beautiful day in Echo Park. We are going to stay with Walter (on the right) in San Diego. He is officially the first host on the Girls Gone Wildlife bike tour!!!! Thank you!!!

Later that day a really cute crazy dog named Oso stalked me and Debbie on our way back to our ride. Debbie wanted to take it on our bike tour. It followed us for blocks. I kept having to tell Debbie don't look at him, stop turning around. It was a little bit cute and sad. I thought we would have to throw rocks at him. "Get out of here you stupid dog. You're free! Run! Go!!!" like the White Fang, The Yearling and all that other Disney shit that makes children cry.

Pour one out for my homie.

2008-06-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

We'd like to dedicate a part of our journey to a good friend that was lost last month, Hugo Roca. We hope that his spirit will ride along with us. Lots of love goes out to his mother Nora and his daughter Emily, and also to his family and friends. He was known best for his gigantic smile, and even bigger heart. Hugo, you will be missed.

Training: 14 Days to Go!

2008-06-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

In case anyone is wondering what we've been up to....

Our Sticker!

2008-05-31T09:21:00.000-07:00

thanks Pizza Party for making the drawing for our new sticker:

Shout Outs

2008-05-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

I just wanna give a shout out to my girls Krazyface, Rae Rae, Shygirl, and Baby G. I also want to tell my boo and baby daddy I love you and will always be here for you, even though you stole my car.

I fucking love radio shout outs.

So here's our shout out to some amazing people who've helped us out a ton in the last couple of weeks:

Juanh Ramirez - the website looks fantastic!!!! Really couldn't have done it without you.
Jack & Charlie Hsu - Thanks for the tent, flashlights, water filter, first aid stuff, bike lights, video camera, cooking supplies, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, GPS system, fast drying towels, battery pack, offering to be our onsite coordinator, offering to drive us to SF, offering to mail us plane tickets if we get stuck somewhere.... we love you!
Maren Jimenez - The bike shorts and socks rock! Our asses never looked and felt so good.
Dude from Crazy Guy on a Bike - Thanks for the free rack, we don't even know you, and you mailed us a free rack.
Sarah Tyler - For offering to throw us a fundraiser party on the East Coast
Jeremy Parker & Autumn Costner - for coming all the way out to LA bearing gifts of chocolate and trees
Eddy Chao - For understanding why I am doing this and being our major donor/supporter.

Thanks to all the friends and family who donated money to GGW or the World Wildlife Fund. Our banks accounts may be running low, but we have never felt so abundant in life, love and support.

We are grateful and humbled by all the gifts we've received from everyone.

Love,
Karin

Spread the Word!!!!!

2008-05-28T22:58:00.000-07:00

We need to get it together and do some major guerilla PR. We've been getting a steady support from our friends and family (which we are extremely grateful and thankful for), but it's time now to spread the message to the masses. What better way to get some publicity than a photo shoot? I know it's kind of cheese that we put on our gear and basically modeled in them today, but I promise we are not posers. We are real bikers! These are just some photos to get a little exposure in the media.

Getting in tuned with bikes, nature, and each other.

Thanks a lot Miss Photo Editor Attias, put in a bunch of dumb pictures of me, but where are the dumb pictures of you?

We're developing this new style of yoga called Bikga. It's about union of the mind, body, and bike. These are just our warm up moves for the beginners out there. Debbie and I can actually do some pretty crazy shit. Yesterday we mastered Sirsasana on our handlebars.

"It's my African Safari Reggaton look, " as Jeremy would say.

Padded shorts rock! My butt looks almost as yummy as Daphne's butt.
I'm going to wear these under my jeans from now on.
Deb's practicing her look for the finish line when we get to Coney Island.

Delirious from exhaustion - after a badass 80 mile bike day.

Ok, so today's homework is to go out and tell 5 new people about our trip, and send them to GirlsGoneWildlife.org. In the next couple of weeks, we will be putting up our 80's training montage video (thanks for the kickass idea Deebs). Stay tuned my friends.

Jotomn and Airemy come to visit!

2008-05-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

The Party is here!

Shaudina & Shaudinakah....

Camping Practice

2008-05-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Rawn & I went camping to Joshua Tree for his Birthday. Thank goodness I remembered everything from the Campfire Girls manual.... Wohelo!
Champers, campfires, & shooting stars = magic
-D

Beach Bicycle Bunnies

2008-05-14T23:24:00.001-07:00

Training Starts Now!

After our 20 mile sunset beach ride, we met up with Christiaan who just rescued a litter of baby bunnies!! Christiaan's a great mommy. He even has a blog for his babies.... (I stole three of these pics from there!)

willow mouse is the runt...

A night at the Photo Booth

2008-05-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

I love LA!

2008-05-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

Dearest Friends,

Greetings from sunny Los Angeles! so far so good. Karin's place is lovely. There's a private balcony that looks out into the tops of the trees so that you're at the same level as the birds while you're having breakfast. It's been perfect, but we still have so much to do for the bike trip! I need to completely re-route our map because I didn't realize that our current route was almost 6,000 miles.. (doh.)

But on the happy foot: I GOT MY BICYCLE!!! His name is Speedy Gonzalez.. (named after my favorite Charo song). The bike stores were trying to tell us it was going to take three months to get our bikes special ordered, but then I found Speedy on ebay, coincidentally, from a guy who lives 20mins. away from Karin AND happens to be the same height as me AND it's hardly been used! YAY!

(Thanks, Jack)

Besides that, I've been getting to go to yoga and the fancy spa for free,

(thanks to Karin) which is all right next to the beach...just a little life of luxury... don't get too jealous, though.. we'll be roughing it soon enough!

On top of all this, I've been hanging out with a dreamboat who can DO THE MOVE! yes. even the dirty dancing one...

(Thanks, Rawn)

and 3 more great things:

My Aunt Nancy just moved to LA, Dawn's new baby, and Karin in the strawberry outfit.

and now, for your own viewing pleasure, some crazy pictures of Karin and me:

okay. that's it. I miss everybody and send lots of love! Oh, and we still need tons of bicycle and camping gear, so if anyone has anything laying around that they are not using, let us know.

LOVE LOVE LOVE,

Debbie

BUTT BUTTER!!!!!!!!!!

2008-05-04T01:18:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Debbie arrived safely Thursday morning to Los Angeles. I'm so happy to see her. Since her arrival she's properly help transform our LA apartment into a bachelorette pad. Love it. Bitch, where were you the last nine months?

Anyway, today we set out to get our Bike Touring 101 lesson at REI. A lovely young man named Jaron gave us a thorough course on what to expect on our journey. We learned one of the unfortunate challenges cyclists face when touring is butt chafing and ass calluses. He highly recommended a cycling lubricant called Chamois Butt'r to us. Which, of course being the mature ladies we are, set us off into a crazed frenzy of dirty jokes and hysterical giggling. It was absolutely adorable because it made Jaron's face turn into the color of a beet.

Tonight over dinner we decided that we are going to ask Chamois Butt'r to help sponsor our trip. We've already come up with ideas on how to turn it into a multi-purpose product. Seriously, can you think of any other cyclists who can promote this product better than we can?

Debbie Misses Her Flight, but the Cleaning Must Go On!

2008-04-30T15:47:00.001-07:00

I hate doing laundry so much, it kills me a little bit every time I do it.

I'm trying to get my house cleaned up for Debbie's arrival, but she just called and told me she missed her flight. Now I have no motivation to do the two months worth of laundry all over my house. I managed to kick the heap of clothes into a pile in front of my bathroom, but now I'm just dancing around it and jumping over it every time I go to the bathroom.

I am 28 years old, I wonder if there will ever come a time in my life where my house starts to look like grown up house with no dirty clothes laying around.

Eeeewwwww old period underwear in the hamper! Fuck me, I hate myself.

ready to go!

2008-04-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

I am leaving tomorrow for Los Angeles!!!!
Thanks Josh & Josh for the bike fix lessons today!

Going away party at the BBar:
I'm going to miss you guys!!!!!!

KKC's first announcement.

2008-04-22T00:09:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I hope you're all doing well. California's been nice, but lately I've been getting the travel itch again.
This summer my good friend Debbie and I will be biking across the country from San Francisco to New York City.
We are going to be visiting communities across the nation that support sustainable-living. We are also using this as an opportunity to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund. If you're feeling charitable, or just have too much money in the bank account, we are asking for donations for our cause.

If you donate to us on behalf of a company or organization we promise to promote and advertise for you everywhere we go (as long as your company doesn't support killing animals and trees). We accept donations in all forms (your time, your knowledge, your suggestions, a place to sleep, your shower, food, equipment, - go ahead and be creative in your donations).

Please check out our website!!! www.GirlsGoneWildlife.org
I promise to keep you all updated on our trip and entertain you with our blogs.
Debbie and I also hope to put out an album and a documentary at the end of our trip, so your contributions will not only be for a good cause to save the world, but also going towards the arts.

I love you guys lots, and will be thinking about you and your air conditioned homes and warm showers this summer, as we head out into the wild.

Come visit me and my man legs in the fall in NYC!

Love you long time,
Karin K. Chao

Letter to Debbie

2008-04-22T00:03:00.001-07:00

Dear Debbie,

I can't wait until you're here in LA. Send my kisses and love to the New York kids at your going away party.

Love,
Karin

The ZOO

2008-04-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

I went to visit Josh at the Bronx ZOO. He works for the Wildlife Conservation Society...

Posted from my phone

2008-04-03T15:26:00.000-07:00

it works!

First Blog Post Ever.

2008-04-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

Karin and I are going to bicycle across the United States. This will be our blog, if I can figure out how to keep it up from my phone. I don't even really know how blogs work.....